Selfish and Selfless Desires
by greatest-change
Summary: Five long years have passed since the war and being apart, and Sasuke and Naruto were finally able to enter the relationship that they never knew how much they longed for. But with this relationship comes new challenges, doubts, un-explainable jealousy, and everything that two people who have never been in a relationship before could have ever expected.


**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Naruto**_ **or any of its characters.**

 **AN: Beta'd by my good friend, Ruby. Thank you so much for your hard work. I love you to pieces!**

Naruto took in the amazing smell of the ramen meal in front of him. Placing his hands together, he gave a quick prayer before diving into his plate. He slurped and moaned as he ate, not really caring if he looked like an absolute slob.

"Good grief, Naruto. If you eat too fast you'll end up giving yourself a stomach ache," Sakura chastised as she slowly ate from her own plate. Ino laughed beside her and then bent forward to get a look at Naruto for herself.

"She's right. You're such a pig: completely and utterly sloppy."

Sakura snorted. "Well it does take a pig to know a pig."

"Why you…" The two of them began to argue back and forth while Naruto just ignored them and asked Teuchi for another plate.

He had only just returned back from Konoha after being in Suna for a couple of weeks. Kakashi had sent him over there for what felt like the billionth time to gather more info.

After the war and before Tsunade gave the reigns over to Kakashi, she was adamant about learning the more "modern" jutsu that was used to help aid in the war. Kakashi agreed more or less, and so over the years he sent Naruto to Suna in order to keep up with the newest revelations discovered there. It was a very welcomed opportunity for Naruto, though. He got to hang out with Gaara and also learned some new techniques for himself.

"Hey, Naruto! I thought I could hear the sound of your slurping."

Naruto turned. Sakura and Ino stopped their bickering and looked as well when they saw Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were walking toward him. Luckily enough, the seats on the other side of Naruto had been empty, so the group easily slipped into them. Kiba placed his hand on Hinata's back and waited for her to sit down before doing so as well.

"Such a gentleman," Naruto smirked.

Kiba's face began to turn red. "Shut up!"

Hinata gave a small nod. "Hello, Naruto-kun," she said politely.

Naruto ignored Kiba's stammering and waved at her. "Hey, Hinata…and Shino." The man wearing sunglasses inside nodded to him politely. He faced Hinata again. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. Did you just get back from Suna?"

"Um, yeah. Not too long ago, actually," he said and awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck.

Hinata gave him a small smile. "Good," she said and then looked away from him after a moment to ask Teuchi, who just placed Naruto's second serving down in front of him, for a bowl of miso soup. Naruto found himself wanting to cringe at the verbal exchange.

He had made it a priority to get things straightened out between the two of them after the war. When he proposed his idea of friendship toward her, Hinata had nervously accepted. Over time the two of them got to know a lot more about each other than they previously had before. It went along like that for a while until Hinata finally worked up the courage to ask Naruto out on a date. It came as a surprise to Naruto, but he ended up saying yes. At the time he felt like he owed Hinata a chance, and since he liked her as a friend, he figured that a date wouldn't hurt.

Hinata was nice a girl, which was something that Naruto had always known, and somewhere in the back of his mind while on their date he figured that maybe his mother would have liked her…

But at the same time it felt so incredibly wrong. And once he got home afterward, Naruto realized why he felt that way.

He ended up having to tell Hinata that he was only interested in being friends. Although he knew it was the right decision to be honest about his feelings, it still made him feel bad when he saw the saddened expression on Hinata's face before she nodded and walked away.

She avoided Naruto for a couple of months as if he were the plague, but eventually they ended back up in a comfortable place where they could talk and have friendly conversations. At times it felt very stiff, but Naruto hoped that one day they could go back to being the good friends that they were like before. He liked Hinata, and he liked the conversations he had with her as well, but his feelings for her would never go beyond anything other than companionship. And he realized that those feelings were a lot different from the ones that he felt toward a certain other shinobi.

Kiba was in the midst of telling the rest of them a story about how a woman kicked him and Akamaru out of her store because Akamaru was shedding too much. Naruto listened and laughed at the funny bits, but other than that, he remained mostly silent.

While he was happy to be back in Konoha again that also meant that there was nothing to do aside from waiting for missions, training...and thinking. Briefly, he allowed himself to wonder about the lone Uchiha member who had been away on his own independent mission for the past few weeks.

It was good that Sasuke was out there making a difference to the shinobi world, but Naruto couldn't help but miss his friend while he was away.

Absentmindedly he let out a sigh as he picked at his noodles, which caused Sakura to turn her attention back to him. "What's up?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nothing. I was just thinkin'."

The medic-nin tilted her head at him and gave a curious look. "About what?" she asked. Naruto found himself wanting to smile. He remembered all the times back to when they were kids and that same expression had his stomach doing a bunch of flip-flops. Now, they were both in their twenties, and all that expression made him want to do was pat her on the head, which he did. "Ugh! Naruto, you're messing up my haaair!" she complained and pushed him away.

"Couldn't help it," Naruto smiled.

Ino laughed at the both of them from her seat but continued to eat her food quietly and then started a conversation with Ayame, who was currently cleaning off the table top. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were all conversing about one of their latest missions together. It left Sakura and Naruto to their own conversation.

"You've been really quiet tonight," she analyzed.

Naruto shrugged. "I guess I just don't have anything to say really."

Sakura nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bit her lip. Naruto immediately knew what the gesture meant and what Sakura was going to ask next.

"Have you spoken to Sasuke-kun recently?" Her voice was very quiet, so that prying ears wouldn't listen in on them.

Sasuke was a heavy subject to the both of them, but for many different reasons.

Naruto slowly nodded his head. "He sent me a letter a couple of days ago while I was in Suna."

Sakura nodded and then looked forward for a moment. "He's doing well on his mission then?"

Naruto really didn't want to have this conversation at all with Sakura. Not because he wanted to exclude her, but because it always ended up making him feel bad that Sasuke never really communicated with her. He didn't really know much of their relationship, and honestly, he didn't wantto know any more than he already did, but Sakura didn't offer up any information either. It was probably depressing for her to talk about, but Naruto also figured that he was the one person Sakura absolutely could not talk to about her stagnant relationship with Sasuke.

"He's fine. He'll be coming back sometime this week, I think."

Sakura looked down at her half eaten bowl of ramen and nodded, but then her bright green eyes looked up to meet his again. "You guys seem even closer now ever since he came back from his journey a couple of months ago."

Naruto felt nervous suddenly. "Well, you know. He was gone for so long and we didn't really see each other at all since he wanted some space and all. I guess we're just making up for lost time."

"And now he's on a mission."

"Yeah." The sadness in Naruto's voice was present.

Sakura hesitated, thinking about if she really wanted to ask her next question. After a second, she did.

"Have…you missed him?"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he felt himself needing to look somewhere else as the blood rushed to his cheeks. He felt extremely uncomfortable in that moment.

Sakura watched his nervous expression and felt something tugging at her heartstrings.

"He'll be home soon enough, right?" Naruto said, giving a toothy grin. It was a familiar smile; one that she knew all too well from their days as Team 7. But she felt that the smile also confirmed something to her. It was something that became increasingly harder to deny over the past few months since Sasuke's return.

Not wanting to dwell on it too much for now, she gave a fake smile of her own. "Right."

They both went silent.

* * *

After another thirty minutes of light chit-chat, Naruto decided to go home, leaving the small group to their hangout. Kiba had been disappointed since he apparently wanted to spar afterward, but Naruto just…wasn't in the mood after his talk with Sakura. He tried to appear unbothered by it, but he could tell that his old teammate could see right through him.

He walked down the dirty path that led to his apartment. The sun was still setting and the sky looked beautiful in its orange hue.

Just then, a couple of children ran passed him laughing and playing. Naruto smiled at them and continued to walk. A handful of people waved to him as he passed and he smiled and waved in return. He remembered a time when those same people would sneer at him or look the other way when he came by. It was all in the past, though, and Naruto was glad that he had finally become accepted.

As he approached his apartment, a sudden chill went down his spine. He stopped in his tracks and stared up at the building for a moment. His mind was swirling with a bunch of different emotions, and he suddenly broke out into a run. He made it up the steps two at a time and pulled out his key from his pants pocket. Cursing as he jumbled with the lock, he finally managed to open the door.

Looking around the living room, he didn't find anything particularly out of place as he shut the door. But everything seemed to fade out of existence when he saw Sasuke sitting down on the couch, leaning back against it with his eyes closed. They opened once he felt Naruto's eyes completely transfixed on him.

Naruto noticed that the black, long-sleeved shirt that Sasuke wore was torn at the side, but more or less the raven-haired nin seemed fine. Naruto felt a sense of relief washing over him as he saw his friend sitting there. Sasuke was home.

"You could have told me in your letter that you'd be back today," he said. It wasn't exactly the first thing that he imagined telling Sasuke once he got back.

Sasuke leaned forward and rested his arm on his knee. Naruto's eyes flickered to the empty sleeve on the left side of Sasuke's shirt. His chest tightened.

"I didn't know for certain when I'd be back." Sasuke smirked. "I wouldn't have wanted you to get your hopes up."

Naruto scoffed as he walked deeper into the room. "I actually just got back from Suna today. If I still had been gone when you got back, you're the who would have gotten his hopes up."

Sasuke stood up. "As if. The bed would have a lot more space without you there to hog it up."

"It is my bed. I can hog it up if I want to."

"That's funny, considering the fact that you're always telling me that this is my home too, and that 'what's mine is yours.' Ne, Naruto?"

Naruto flushed and looked up. The amused expression on the other nin's face was enough to make him roll his eyes and turn toward the kitchen. He could hear Sasuke following him from behind.

"Are you hungry? I haven't done any shopping so you'll have to settle for somethin' simple."

Sasuke was zoned out as he stared up at Naruto's back, pondering something. When he heard Naruto call out his name and turn around to face him, he quickly shook his head. "No. But it doesn't surprise me in the least that you haven't done any."

Naruto huffed. "Jerk."

He opened up the fridge and took out a carton of juice. Not wasting any time getting a cup, he unfolded the flap and proceeded to drink from straight out of the carton.

"Classy," Sasuke said to him. Naruto shrugged and continued to drink before finally putting the carton of juice back in the fridge. He closed it and turned around only to bump right into Sasuke, who was now standing really close to him.

"Ever hear of a thing called personal space?" Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke let his eyes travel down to Naruto's lips as he talked, and then stretched his hand on the fridge beside Naruto's face.

"Isn't this how you like it?" Sasuke asked in a low and husky tone. He got even closer.

Naruto bit his lip. "You seem to think I do."

Sasuke brought his face up so that their noses were barely touching. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Naruto's eyes roamed all over Sasuke's face, taking in every detail that he missed for the past few weeks. "Your hair's getting longer," he said quietly and raised his hand to brush the bangs out of Sasuke's face. But then Sasuke quickly intercepted the touch by grabbing Naruto by the wrist.

Naruto felt a familiar stirring inside of him at the feeling of Sasuke's hand around him. He couldn't tell what Sasuke was feeling in that moment, due to the stoic look on his face. Without really thinking about it, Naruto leaned forward and brought their lips together in a slow kiss. Sasuke immediately responded and let go of Naruto's wrist to weave his hand through Naruto's hair and tilt his head to firmly glue their mouths together.

Being able to kiss Sasuke was still something that Naruto wasn't used to, and he probably wouldn't ever be.

There had always been something building up between them. If Naruto had to guess, their relationship had slowly begun to change when Sasuke had stayed with him in Konoha for a year before leaving. Kakashi had been working on finding another place for Sasuke to stay, but Sasuke didn't particularly seem all that bothered by it.

Naruto's place was small, but with a couple of adjustments and replacing the couch with a pull-out one, it wasn't as cluttered as it had been previously. They spent most of their time together just talking and getting to know about every part that they missed out on each others lives while they had been apart.

While to other people it probably wouldn't have made a big difference to a relationship, for Naruto and Sasuke it did.

The meaning of it didn't come until much later. Naruto figured that something changed within himself when Sasuke had left on his journey for almost four years. It was something they argued about for a while but eventually Naruto agreed to let Sasuke go by himself.

It's something I need to do on my own," Sasuke told him the night before he left. "If you ever want me to see the world in the way you do, then let me do this, Naruto."

But when Sasuke was finally gone, the longing that Naruto felt inside of his heart would never go away.

It was when he got home that night from his date with Hinata and couldn't get Sasuke out of his mind that Naruto realized that their bond had been even more complicated to put into words than he so previously thought.

When Sasuke finally came home only a few months ago Naruto finally voiced everything he had been feeling since the Uchiha had left on his journey. The anger in his voice had come to a surprise to them both. However, Naruto, soon after his rant, found out that Sasuke's feelings weren't too far from his own after being shoved against a hard surface and kissed with an intensity that, to this day, burned him up inside.

In their present situation, he felt Sasuke's teeth gnawing at his bottom lip and he growled in response. Pulling away, he flipped their positions and now had Sasuke pressed up against the fridge. But just as Sasuke thought that Naruto would attack his lips, Naruto instead bent down to kiss and suck at his pale neck.

Sasuke breathed heavily against him, clearly into it, which made eager Naruto to squeeze at the other's hip in response. He was not prepared for the hiss of pain that escaped from Sasuke's mouth and immediately pulled away.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Sasuke shook his head. "Nothing."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and then looked down at Sasuke body. Taking the hem of Sasuke's shirt, Naruto raised it out of the way. His eyes widened at the bloody bandage covering a gash that went horizontally on Sasuke's side.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, the anger in his voice clearly there.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed Naruto's hands away. "It was a small issue with a couple of people outside the village. I handled it."

The rage on Naruto's face could not be masked as he waited for Sasuke to continue, but when he wasn't offered any kind of explanation, he grew impatient.

"How many?"

Sasuke sighed. "Five. One was hiding up above in some trees using shuriken and I had my guard down momentarily."

"How is that even possible that you didn't see him?"

Sasuke could feel an oncoming headache, which was a disappointment because he was actually in a good mood only a few minutes ago. "Just let it go, Naruto."

"The hell I will! What happened afterward?" he asked and then proceeded to grab Sasuke by the shirt, keeping it pulled up as he dragged the other over to the nearby counter. He leaned over and flipped the light switch to see Sasuke's wound better.

"I used Susano'o and scared the shit out of them. It didn't take much after that."

"'Take much' as in…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I didn't kill them, idiot."

At that, Naruto visibly relaxed. "Well what do you think their motive was? Are they working with someone?"

"Stop asking so many questions," Sasuke finally snapped.

Naruto gave him a look and then shook his head. Instead he decided to focus on what was the most important, which was Sasuke's wound.

"We should take care of this. The wound is still fresh and it could get infected."

"It will heal." Sasuke maneuvered his way out of Naruto's reach and, without another word, walked out of the room.

"Dammit, Sasuke," Naruto growled. He followed after and saw that the sharingan user had walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open behind him. Naruto walked in without a second thought.

Sasuke was in the midst of removing his shirt and throwing it to the side. He looked over at Naruto, who was now giving him a worried expression, and gave him an irritated look.

"Stop making this a big deal."

"How can I not?" Naruto exclaimed and his eyes finally left the wound to look back up at Sasuke's face. "Doesn't it bother you at all?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I'm not exactly the most popular person in the world. Some people would still like to see me locked up and done away with."

"Stop," Naruto said and then took a step closer with an angered expression on his look on his face. "You're a hero. You saved the world with me. You even saved everyone when you dispelled the Infinite Tsukuyomi! Why don't people realize that? Why don't you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I told you before that not everyone would be on the same page with you when it comes to me, Naruto. And I don't expect them to. You can have all of the glory. I don't want it."

"This isn't about glory!" Naruto let out an agitated sigh and ran a hand through his messy blond hair. "Look, they are going to have to at least respect you. I mean, what will happen once I'm Hokage and they find out that…" He stopped abruptly, realizing that he said too much.

Sasuke paused as well, feeling extremely uncomfortable with what Naruto was about to say. "I'm taking a shower now," he said, acting as if he didn't even hear Naruto's words, which…really kind of annoyed Naruto.

Even though the words slipped out unintentionally, Naruto found himself wanting Sasuke to react to them. He opened his mouth to voice his feelings, but immediately shut it once he was presented the image in front of him.

Sasuke used his arm to push down his pants…as well as his boxers. The Uchiha stood there naked, and paid no mind to Naruto's obvious staring as he carefully peeled off the gauze that was tapped to his skin. After throwing it away in the trashcan Sasuke eased past Naruto, making his way over to the bathtub and turning the handle. Water poured out of the shower faucet and he turned to face Naruto again as he waited for the water to get warm. Secretly he was pleased with how he was able to dispel Naruto from any of his current thoughts by simply stripping down nude.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to shower in peace. We're both dirty, so either get in with me and be quiet, or get out of the bathroom and wait your turn."

With that said, Sasuke stepped into the bathtub and closed the curtain behind him.

Naruto blinked. He couldn't believe how easily he lost all of his drive to argue within a split second. The shadow of Sasuke's figure could be seen through the curtain, and the room quickly began to fog up from the heat transmitting off the water.

"Hmpf. Bastard," Naruto said to himself and began to peel off his clothes. Once he pulled off his boxers, he finally got to unwrapping the bandage around his arm. He looked down at the pale zetsu arm that was attached, courtesy of Tsunade. Sometimes he wished that he never got the arm in the first place and stayed forever armless like Sasuke did.

He walked up to the bathtub and pulled back the curtain a bit to step inside. The water was hot, but very pleasant due to the fact that he had been travelling for two days straight and constantly on his feet.

When he looked down, Naruto saw the brown stream of blood making its way down the drain. Slowly he walked up to Sasuke from behind. Sasuke had his head under the shower spray, but Naruto knew that the other male was aware of his presence. His eyes roamed over the pale skin that was currently being lathered with soap. The muscles in Sasuke's back seemed tense due to all the stress he probably endured on the mission. He watched a trail of soap run down the middle of Sasuke's back and slip through the crack of his ass. It had been an alluring sight to say the least.

Walking up, he placed his hand on Sasuke's uninjured side, waiting for him to turn around. Sasuke pulled his head out of the water and then looked over his shoulder.

"So you've decided to stop playing mother hen?" he asked with a smirk.

"Shut up," Naruto whispered and turned Sasuke fully around for a kiss that surprised them both. Naruto had no idea what he was feeling in the moment. He just knew that he needed Sasuke; to feel him.

Sasuke responded to the kiss with equal fervor, dropping his rag and using his hand to cup the back of Naruto's head and bring him under the hot water until they reached the shower wall. Naruto followed along and rested his elbows against the tiles on either side of Sasuke's head. He sucked and bit at Sasuke's bottom lip just before slipping his tongue inside of the wet cavern. Sasuke opened his mouth wide to this and then he brought his leg up to wrap around the side of Naruto's hip. Their tongues played briefly before Sasuke slowly began to make thrusting movements against Naruto's pelvis.

Naruto groaned at the sudden feeling of their cocks brushing up against each other and pulled away from Sasuke's lips. He reached for Sasuke's leg and kept it firmly around his hip. The feeling of the water against his back was not as pleasant as the the feeling of Sasuke's body being on his.

Suddenly he gasped when Sasuke's lips latched onto his neck. Kissing and sucking on it the same way that Naruto did to him earlier while in the kitchen. Naruto moaned and brought his head forward to rest against Sasuke's shoulder.

"I thought you'd be too tired for this," he said whispered huskily.

Sasuke made a noise at the back of his throat in response and then came up to nibble at Naruto's chin. After another moment he finally unwrapped his leg from Naruto's waist and pushed him away.

Naruto instantly missed the contact, as well as the feeling of Sasuke's hardening erection against his. He looked down at Sasuke's injured side. From seeing it up close, it actually didn't look that bad. It probably wouldn't even leave a scar. He reached out and placed his hand gently against it, letting his thumb trace the outline of it before letting his hand slide down to Sasuke's front, stopping just before he could reach Sasuke's erection that had been unattended to. He heard the sound of Sasuke's breath hitch and looked up in time to see the other's eyes had been closed.

"You can use my chakra if you want…to heal yourself, I mean," he said.

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open at Naruto's words and then he shook his head. "It can heal by itself."

"But that will take too long. And no offense, but I'm really fuckin' horny right now. We should speed up the process so that you're not bleeding all over the sheets."

"And what makes you think I'm up to doing anything with you tonight?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Well this for starters." Naruto grabbed Sasuke's cock and gave it a firm squeeze.

Sasuke did a short intake of breath, and this time he was the one to bring his head forward onto Naruto's shoulder. He sighed when that hand lazily began to pump him.

"Don't be stubborn," Naruto said. "I'll ask Kurama to lend me some of his chakra and you'll be as good as new. It's not a big deal."

Sasuke hummed and pressed his lips against the top of Naruto's broad shoulder. He shut his eyes when Naruto gave another squeeze, almost like a warning. "Fine," he said and pushed Naruto away. He grabbed the other black rag at the side of the tub and threw it in Naruto's face, then bent down to grab the rag that he dropped earlier.

"Wha—" Naruto started.

"I don't want to prune up in here," Sasuke interjected. He brushed past Naruto and got under the shower spray fully again to wash himself.

Naruto turned around and leaned against the wall to watch Sasuke as he did this since there was only room for one of them to shower at a time.

"Well we wouldn't want the pretty boy to do that now would we?"

"Fuck you."

The sound of Naruto's laughter echoed in the shower.

* * *

During and after their shower, they briefly talked about each of their missions. Naruto decided to save the topic of Sasuke being ambushed for a later time. Not because he wasn't still worried, but he could see how much the topic irritated Sasuke at the moment so he decided not to push it.

Sasuke told Naruto that he had been tracking for any remnants of Kaguya's chakra, along with hopping to and from her six dimensions. Naruto, in turn, told Sasuke about the cloth binding technique that he somewhat learned while in Suna.

"It was so hot there. Like, extremely hot. I thought I'd die," Naruto exaggerated as he placed his chakra-filled hand over Sasuke's wound.

"Idiot," Sasuke winced a little when some pressure was applied.

"And what about you? Weren't in that hot desert while you were doing your mission?"

"I was," Sasuke answered, "but I found nothing there and ended up transporting to another dimension after, what felt like, a day or two."

"I'm still not entirely sure how that ability works," Naruto said honestly. The wound on Sasuke's side was slowly beginning to disappear.

"I'm not going to explain it again."

"Bah. I don't need you to. As long as I get the gist of it, right?"

"I suppose," Sasuke answered with a small smile.

"Do you think you'll ever find anything? I mean, you're always turning up empty handed, so maybe she's really gone."

"Better to be safe than sorry, right? Things may be peaceful now, but we should be prepared for anything."

It's not as peaceful as we thought, Naruto wanted to say as the last of Sasuke's wound disappeared.

"There, that should do it." He let the chakra dissipate from his hand and silently thanked Kurama, only to be scoffed at before their connection was broken.

"Thanks," Sasuke said and glanced over himself, relieved to see that the wound was completely gone and he was without a scar. He sat on top of the bed and watched Naruto stand up now after being on the ground. The cool air that blew in from the open window hit their naked chests as they were beside it in only their boxers. Both of their hair was still damp, and a few droplets that fell from Naruto's head landed on Sasuke's upper thigh.

Naruto grabbed the bloody bandage and made his way over to the trash bin. He was glad that Sasuke decided to just be healed by Kurama's chakra, because otherwise Naruto would have dragged the other man over to Sakura whether he liked it or not.

Suddenly he was reminded about the conversation that he had with the pink-haired nin earlier.

"So, I saw Sakura today," he mentioned.

"Did you?" Sasuke asked, seemingly disinterested as he flicked a piece of lint off the bed.

"She asked about you and how you were doing."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do with this information?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't be an ass. Would it kill you to have a conversation with her every once in awhile?"

Sasuke glared. "I have, but she's just…"

"What?" Naruto asked, curious, but also anxious.

Sasuke looked Naruto right in the eye. "She always seems to want more than I can give her."

Naruto felt his stomach twisting in a knot at the information.

"...I see."

"You're upset," Sasuke calculated.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not."

"Then why do you look like you want to hit me?"

Naruto felt the tension in his face and relaxed it almost immediately. He wasn't even sure why he was angry, but he knew for certain that this was the exact reason why he didn't like having conversations with Sasuke about Sakura and vice versa.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat, "I think she knows about us."

The room was quiet for a moment, which caused Naruto to feel a bit antsy. He saw that Sasuke's face was completely void of all emotion.

"Why do you think that?" Sasuke finally asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. She just...says weird things sometimes."

"Like?"

Naruto sighed. "Never mind. Just forget it."

"Naruto."

"What?" he said, a little more harshly than he intended.

"Why are you so mad all of a sudden?" Sasuke asked. His patience was wearing thin.

Naruto ran his fingers through his damp hair. "I'm not. It's just that sometimes I think that this entire thing would be easier if we…" he stopped.

Sasuke glared. "'If we' what?"

"Something tells me you already know what I want to say."

"Explain it to me, Naruto. What good would it do if everyone knew about us?"

"We've been living together for a while now, Sasuke. I'm pretty sure that people already have their suspicions."

"Well, it's none of their business," Sasuke said hotly and stood up from the bed. "And besides, do you really think people will accept it?"

Naruto gave him a look. "What are you talking about? Do you think that because we're both guys—"

"Don't even finish that sentence," Sasuke said, effectively cutting Naruto off with a gesture of his hand. "It figures that you'd be this oblivious."

At that, Naruto was offended. "Well enlighten me then since my little brain is obviously too dense."

Sasuke rubbed at one of his temples. Why was this happening now? All he wanted was to lie down, and possibly do other things, but now he was being forced into having this conversation with Naruto: a conversation that he always meant to avoid. Finally, he looked up to meet Naruto's scornful gaze and sighed.

"I didn't mean to insult you if that's what you think," he said carefully.

"Whatever," Naruto said. He then turned to walk away.

That was when finally Sasuke finally had it. He grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and turned him back around. Naruto tried to brush his hand off, but Sasuke held on tightly.

"Despite what you and a handful of others think, there are still some people that would rather see me dead with the rest of my clan," he spat out angrily. Naruto flinched at having almost those exact words repeated for the second time today. But Sasuke wasn't finished yet. "A lot of those people would probably disapprove of their future seventh Hokage being…involved with the likes of a former traitor in the way that you are. You can't expect for them to think any differently just because you tell them to."

Naruto looked away. He knew that Sasuke's words held some truth in them, but it would have pained him too much to agree.

"What happened to not caring about what other people think of you?" he asked quietly as he looked into Sasuke's eyes. He felt an ache to reach up and brush those long bangs out of the other male's face.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "You've missed the point."

"No, I understand perfectly. You think that the Hokage name will be tarnished if people found out about us because of who you are. Fine. Whatever. I won't bring it up again." Naruto looked away.

Suddenly, Sasuke grabbed him by the right arm—which he still had yet to bandage—and unceremoniously shoved him onto the bed. Naruto landed on his stomach in shock. "W-what the hell are you doing, bastard?" he asked as he tried to push up from the bed.

Sasuke didn't answer, but instead climbed on top of the bed and straddled Naruto's waist. Naruto immediately froze. He could feel Sasuke leaning forward, and then a naked chest pressed onto his back, followed by a mouth that came up beside Naruto's ear.

"It never ceases to amaze me that you can be so incredibly unaware of what's staring you right in the face." Sasuke said. "You're right. I don't care about what other people think of me, and I never will. But you…if it's you that they're talking about… " Sasuke removed himself from Naruto's waist, withholding the rest of his sentence.

"You've done a lot to get people to respect and acknowledge you," he continued. "Don't let me drag you down...Not again." The last part had been said so lowly that Naruto almost didn't hear it. He lie there for a moment, processing Sasuke's words.

He's worried about me, he realized. The situation itself was one that Naruto never even thought about, nor did he ever want to. He only assumed at first that Sasuke was just a private person who wanted to keep their relationship just as private. Naruto also never thought about how people responding negatively to them being together dwelled so heavily on the Uchiha's mind.

Slowly, he got up from the bed and angled toward Sasuke.

"If you think that I need anyone else's approval over this then you're wrong." Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but Naruto held his hand up to stop him. When Sasuke waited, Naruto continued. "I've told you already that there's a lot that I want to change once I become Hokage and that in order to do it I needed you. That still hasn't changed. And when I do become Hokage, I'll be sure that everyone will see how much of a good shinobi—no, a good man— you have become, Sasuke. I've always known it, and over time everybody else will know it, too."

A brief silence passed between them. Naruto tried to look for an expression on Sasuke's face, but the damp and long bangs covered the other's eyes as he looked down at the bed.

"You are very stubborn," Sasuke spoke softly.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. But so are you."

"Will there ever come a day where you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?"

Sasuke finally looked up. "Going so far for me?"

Naruto's expression turned very serious in that moment. "Never. You should know this."

"Hn. I guess I do."

Naruto folded his arms behind his head. "Good. And besides, the feelings are mutual. You may not care about what others think about you, but I do. Especially when they don't know anything about what you've been through and how much you've grown since then. It's unfair if they don't look at all of the facts presented to them, right? You deserve that at least."

"Naruto?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

"Yeah?"

Instead of saying anything else, Sasuke reached out with his one arm and cupped Naruto's cheek, bringing him forward. Naruto willingly went, placing his hands down on Sasuke's knees, and letting their lips meet in a soft and gentle kiss.

When they drew apart after a minute, Sasuke watched as Naruto kept his eyes closed briefly before opening them and revealing his vivid, blue eyes.

"What was that for?" Naruto ended up smiling.

Sasuke shook his head, but still kept Naruto close to him. "I'd...still like to keep this just between us," he said.

Naruto frowned. "Bu—"

"I mean it when I say that it's no ones business. Whether they figure it out for themselves doesn't matter, for now, at least."

"And Sakura?"

Sasuke paused. "The same goes for her."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek and looked down. "I hate lying to her."

"Withholding the truth isn't lying."

"It's lying, Sasuke."

Just then, Sasuke's hand came down from Naruto's face and touched his thigh. When Naruto looked up, he was able to see Sasuke's soft expression.

"We will figure it out once we know for sure that she's aware. Okay?"

Naruto contemplated Sasuke's words, then slowly nodded and said, "Okay."

They held each others gaze, and then, reaching up, Naruto pushed the damp bangs out of Sasuke's eyes and tucked them behind his ear. The purple rinnegan stared back at him, and for a moment Naruto felt entranced by it. Sasuke tried to move his face away, but Naruto didn't let up. When he was sure that Sasuke wouldn't move again, he ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair until they reached the back, then he leaned forward and brought their lips together once more.

Naruto's heart felt heavy as it beat loudly in his chest. Having Sasuke be so worried about his reputation as the Hokage was endearing. He knew that if he said that out loud Sasuke would have just waved him off, but Naruto thought that maybe through his actions, Sasuke would understand just how much it meant.

They ended up moving to the middle of the bed, still connected by the lips, until Sasuke pushed Naruto flat near the edge. Naruto lie there as Sasuke got in between his legs and on his knees. He placed his hand on Sasuke's back and began to rub it in circles as Sasuke kissed down his chest.

"S-Sasuke," he rasped when the other male's tongue began to lick at one of his dusky nipples while playing with the other. He closed his eyes and let out small moans whenever Sasuke fully wrapped his lips around one. After a minute Sasuke began to rotate between the two, and then he finally moved down lower to kiss at Naruto's taut stomach.

Naruto stopped rubbing at Sasuke's back and fisted the sheets when he felt his boxers being pulled down. He slowly opened his eyes, just in time for when he felt Sasuke's hand inside of his boxers, pulling Naruto's hardening cock out from them.

Sasuke was completely into what he was doing as he pushed the red boxers down Naruto's thighs. Naruto lifted himself up and allowed Sasuke to pull them down until they were thrown to the side on the floor.

"Take yours off, too," Naruto said breathlessly.

"In a minute…"

"Shit!" Naruto arched off the bed, panting and bringing his hands to Sasuke's shoulders. Sasuke's mouth was on him, licking and teasingly sucking at his tip as be rubbed up and down the shaft.

When Sasuke pulled away for a moment, he noticed a bead of white pre-cum from the slit slide down until it disappeared into Naruto's blond hairs. He licked his lips and then brought his mouth to the base of Naruto's cock, licking his way up the path that that bead of cum left until his mouth reached the very tip again.

Hearing the small whimper that Naruto let out, Sasuke decided to end the light teasing. He opened his mouth and let the bulb of Naruto's cock enter it. He pulled away and did the same thing again before finally giving into his own desires and slowly taking as much of the cock as he could fit into his mouth.

It was something that Sasuke had wanted to do since he'd first seen Naruto that day. It was arousing-the sounds that he could get to escape from Naruto's mouth by sucking on the length. The husky sound behind Naruto's moans was enough to get Sasuke's own cock to stand completely at attention.

Naruto felt himself sinking further into the mattress the more he felt Sasuke's mouth on him. Inwardly he cursed Sasuke for being such a natural at this. Even the first time that they had sex, Sasuke seemed more knowledgeable and composed than Naruto was. Naruto learned everything he knew about sex from the Pervy Sage's books, which was something that he had over Sasuke, but the way Sasuke became so good at it within the span of only a couple of times and without any really experience beforehand annoyed Naruto, and yet it turned him on at the same time.

"M-more," he said, body shaking with anticipation. Sasuke obliged and took his length deeper inside his mouth and using his hand that was previously on Naruto's thigh to fondle his swollen balls. He gagged a bit when he felt the tip brush against the back of his mouth.

"Fuck, Sasuke! So good." Naruto moaned loudly. The pure eroticism behind it all left little to be embarrassed about. The heat of Sasuke's mouth was addicting as he bobbed up and down, never stopping. And then Naruto felt, rather than heard, Sasuke moaning around his length. The vibrations had him tingling.

He started pulling at the dry strands of Sasuke's hair. "I'm close," he panted.

Sasuke didn't pull away. Instead he gave a hard squeeze to Naruto's sac. Instead of trying to pull Sasuke away again, Naruto kept his hands threaded into Sasuke's hair, encouraging the other to keep going and helping by thrusting his hips upward. His head felt dizzy, and the only thing he could comprehend was Sasuke's mouth around him. Slowly he felt himself rising from the bed, anticipating the climax that would come at any minute.

"Sasuke, I-I'm…!"

Naruto groaned as he came hard into Sasuke's mouth. His lower half almost flung up, but the Uchiha held him still by the hip with his one arm as he continued to swallow the warm and thick shots of cum that shot out of Naruto's pulsing and turgid cock.

Naruto slowly came down from his high, occasionally moaning because Sasuke still continued to suck on him even well after his mind-blowing orgasm. Finally, he gently pushed Sasuke away and sighed when his dick came out Sasuke's mouth with a loud popping sound.

"Shit, that was good.," Naruto said after regaining his speech. Sasuke had been sitting back on his heels, absentmindedly stroking Naruto's thigh.

"You must have been holding that back for a while," he said with a smirk.

"I was," Naruto said truthfully.

"Oh?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You didn't touch yourself at all while you were in Suna?"

Naruto shook his head. "I never had the time."

"Well then I guess you can think of that as a 'welcome home' gift."

Naruto gave a lighthearted chuckle. "How thoughtful of you."

"It is, isn't it?" Sasuke let his hand travel back over to Naruto's now flaccid length. He grabbed it lightly and began to stroke it. "So tell me, Naruto, do I get a 'welcome home' gift now?"

Naruto shivered, but nonetheless he grabbed Sasuke by the waist and flipped them so that he was now on top. He heard a breathy noise escape from Sasuke's mouth at the sudden switch. Naruto gave him a cocky grin. "I may have a little something for you."

Sasuke's dark eyes were filled with desire in that moment. "Show me."

Naruto grinned. "I can show you all night if you want."

Quickly, he pulled off Sasuke's boxers and threw them to the floor. His eyes immediately went to the leaking erection before him, and then Naruto reached forward and grabbed it, squeezing and stroking in almost the same way Sasuke was doing to him only a moment ago. The pale body in front of him arched up, and then a hand went over top of Naruto's to encourage him. Both of their hands were warm against each other as they stroked, and Sasuke's breath was growing heavy as he fought to give in to the pleasure so early.

Naruto watched as Sasuke did this. It was a site to have Sasuke under him; panting and eyes shut in the utmost gratification. He could feel his own excitement growing, and began to thrust his hips against Sasuke's ass as he continued to stroke the other's cock, speeding up their pace.

Sasuke let out a sharp gasp when he felt Naruto's dick rubbing against his scrotum. His own hand was beginning to weaken on top of Naruto's as the pleasure bubbling up inside of him began to be too much.

Just when he felt like he was going to cum, Sasuke pushed both his and Naruto's hands away. His breathing was ragged now and his muscular, pale chest went up and down as he gasped for air, trying to gain the control that he had lost.

Naruto was a little disappointed with how Sasuke pushed him away, but that soon turned into pride when he realized just how close Sasuke was to cumming.

Slowly he removed himself from on top of other's body and got up briefly to go to the dresser. He opened it and reached in for the oil and a few condoms. He didn't have any extra sheets washed, so for both of their sakes he decided that using condoms tonight would be the better option to avoid the mess.

When he came back, he sat on his heels in front of Sasuke and put the condoms to the side. He couldn't help but admire the Uchiha's body. It was lean and masculine, and his skin contrasted considerably with Naruto's.

Uncapping the oil, he poured some of it onto his fingers.

"Turn around," he said.

"Are you really in any position to boss me around?"

"Well, I am on top of you, so yes."

"Only you could manage to get so annoying within a minute."

"S'all part of my charm," Naruto winked and threw the oil elsewhere on the bed. When he finally turned back, he noticed that Sasuke was giving him an unimpressed look. Chuckling, he leaned forward and kissed at Sasuke's neck.

"It's been so long," he said in between kisses. "It's all I ever thought about when you left, actually, which is why I was so eager to go to Suna. I needed somethin' to keep my mind off it…off of you."

Sasuke bit his lip. He hated how honest Naruto could be sometimes, because every time the blond shinobi said those things, it always made Sasuke forget all of his doubts and how troubling their relationship could be in the near future. However, to be missed that way, and to have it reaffirmed that Naruto felt just the same as Sasuke did was something that he cherished every time, and nothing could ever get in the way of that.

Naruto let his lips follow a path that led to Sasuke's left shoulder. He realized that he hadn't been giving Sasuke's left side nearly as much attention as he should have. He slowly made his way down, and when he reached the end to where the rest of Sasuke's left arm should have been, he placed individual kisses around the stub.

"Naruto," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto lifted his head and then looked down at Sasuke.

"Turn around," he said again, but this time in a more soft and gentler tone.

Sasuke stared at him for a few long seconds and then unhurriedly turned so that he lay on his stomach.

Naruto bit his lip as he looked over Sasuke's body. He placed the tips of his fingers on the lower back and then slid his hand down until he reached the crack of Sasuke's ass. Using that same hand, he pulled one cheek away from the other in order to get a view of Sasuke's glistening hole. Naruto could feel himself becoming erect once again. He used his other oily hand and brought his index finger to the hole, encircling it for a moment. When he heard Sasuke let out a shuddered breath, he had to close his eyes briefly.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself.

Carefully he slid his finger into Sasuke's entrance. It was tight, but once he whispered for Sasuke to relax, it became a little easier to get his finger knuckle-deep inside. He leaned forward and began to kiss at Sasuke's back. When he felt the hole beginning to loosen, Naruto slipped a second finger inside and rotated his wrist back and forth, going in and out slowly. He heard Sasuke moaning into the bed, words that couldn't be understood since his face was pushed into the mattress. Naruto rectified the situation by wrapping his arm around Sasuke's and lifting him so that he was now raised up on his elbow.

Sasuke felt like his head was spinning from the pleasure. He rotated between trying to rub his neglected cock up against the bed and thrusting back into Naruto's torturous fingers. The loud groan could not be helped when he felt Naruto add a third.

Pulling his lips away from the pale back, Naruto watched as Sasuke fisted the sheets with his hand. He let the arm that was wrapped around the other's body slide away until only his hand was there to grab Sasuke's cock. As he did this, Naruto plunged his fingers in deeper and faster, wanting to see Sasuke lose complete control.

"Fuck you're so hot," he panted.

"J-Just get on with it already," Sasuke panted out and tried to create more friction by thrusting into Naruto's hand. Naruto growled and removed his fingers, then grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder to turn him on his back again.

He hooked his arms underneath Sasuke's legs and brought them both around his hips. Sasuke seemed to understand what he wanted and lifted himself up so that he sat on Naruto's lap as Naruto unfolded his legs and bent them so that Sasuke could have some leverage behind him.

"At first I really wanted to see you cum," Naruto voiced huskily, "but now I don't think I'll be completely satisfied until you scream my name."

Sasuke managed to snort. "You talk pretty big for someone who has already cum once tonight, and that was only from my mouth."

"I was just warming up," Naruto said coolly.

"Oh?" Sasuke smirked at him and then slid his hand up Naruto's chest, until his arm came around Naruto's neck. "Come on, Naruto. Why don't you just admit that when it comes to me you have no self-control whatsoever?"

Naruto knew that Sasuke was only egging him on, and it did nothing but stir him up inside.

"I'll show you some self-control."

"I'd like to see you try," Sasuke quipped.

"Like I said, we have all night. Now shut up and do something already."

"Hn." Their gazes held for a moment, and then Sasuke pulled away and reached beside Naruto to grab one of the condoms. "I'm guessing you didn't wash any of the other sheets?"

Naruto only offered the rolling of his eyes at Sasuke guessing correctly. Sasuke smirked and tore open the wrapper. He put the condom around Naruto and rolled it down, then grabbed the oil to pour it all over. Once that was done he pushed the bottle to the side.

Keeping eye contact, he rose up a bit to align himself, and then he lowered himself to allow the tip of Naruto's cock to tease him for a moment, he smirked at how Naruto's body trembled with anticipation. Slowly, he allowed the tip to enter him.

Naruto let out a shaky breath and placed his hands at Sasuke's sides, gripping them tightly. All he wanted right then was to sink fully into that amazing heat of Sasuke's, but he knew that they would need to go slow at first so that Sasuke could get used to being filled again. He groaned when Sasuke moved again, sinking lower and lower, down his length until finally reaching the hilt. Naruto found that Sasuke wasn't faring any better, with sweat dripping down one side of his forehead. He raised one of his hands and wiped it away.

In that brief moment when they were paused again, Naruto got familiar to the feeling of Sasuke around him and how good it felt to be doing this after what he felt like were so many nights he spent alone. He leaned against Sasuke's shoulder and sighed.

"Please move already," he mumbled.

Sasuke didn't bother to make a snarky comment on Naruto's over-eagerness because he was far too gone to care. He also had to admit that right then he never felt more dominant over Naruto as he watched the blond try to compose himself and utterly fail at it.

"How's that self-control going for you?" he half-heartedly teased. Luckily he was able to keep his voice from betraying him like his body was.

"Bastard," Naruto huffed out and then used one hand to slap Sasuke's ass as a silent order to tell him to move.

Sasuke grunted. Naruto would definitely be paying for that.

Without further ado, Sasuke rose up until he was almost pulled out and brought himself down. Both of them let out drawled moans in the process. Naruto decided to help by lifting Sasuke's hips and moving him up and down repeatedly until Sasuke was able to do so on his own.

Sasuke moaned and tilted his head back. Naruto didn't waste the opportunity and kissed his way at the neck that was exposed to him, leaving dark purple marks as he sucked and licked.

"S-shit, Sasuke," he gasped. "You feel so fucking good. Don't stop. Please don't stop." Suddenly, he felt Sasuke's hand at his shoulder, pushing him back. Naruto didn't protest and fell onto the mattress. He kept his eyes open and watched as Sasuke continued to ride him.

Sasuke still had his head back and groaned when he felt his pleasure spot being teasingly brushed against. That's when he felt Naruto's strong and large hands grip his hips more firmly, and then those tan hips began to thrust hard into him, hitting that place that drove Sasuke crazy. He gasped and jerked forward but continued to thrust himself down on the thick cock that pulsed inside of him.

Naruto's heels dug into the bed as he brought his hips up to meet Sasuke's-fast and unrelenting. Sasuke being in that position drove him mad. He started to see spots of red dance in his eyes as the never-ending pleasure continued. He blinked a few times before looking back up at Sasuke. His jaw went slack as he got to see the look of absolute bliss on Sasuke's face. The sounds of their skin slapping against each other rang louder than usual in his ears and it was almost enough to hurt. But Naruto didn't care. He was so beyond caring at this point that the only thing on his mind was completion, and fulfilling all of Sasuke's needs.

Suddenly, and without thinking about it, Naruto pulled out and rolled them over so that he was on top. Taking Sasuke by the leg, he lifted it and placed it around his shoulder. He managed to get Sasuke to turn on his right side and then plunged right back into the slick hole that welcomed him back with ease. He watched as Sasuke's body rose up and down with his powerful thrusts near the edge of the bed. It was so pleasing to watch, but definitely not as pleasing as the sound of Sasuke's yells and moans.

"Naruto."

"You like that, hm? And you talk about my self-control. You're practically begging for this."

Sasuke felt like he was slowly beginning to slip away from reality. It felt so good and somehow Naruto managed to get deeper than he was before, hitting that spot dead on. The words Naruto said to him only stimulate his arousal even more. He felt himself leaking heavily on the mattress and ached to touch his straining cock. He found, however, that he was completely at a disadvantage because his arm was wedged in-between himself and the bed. He let out a small whine of dissatisfaction.

Naruto, seeing this, changed their positions for the third time and had Sasuke lay on his back with both of his legs now pulled up around Naruto's waist. When Naruto saw the other reach for his throbbing erection, he intercepted it and grabbing the length for himself. He pumped it in time with his own thrusts and moaned when he felt Sasuke tighten around him.

Leaning forward so that his face was close to Sasuke's, Naruto began to pound wildly, without any sort of rhythm. Before he knew it, he was spewing out a bunch of words that he'd wanted to say earlier but couldn't bring himself to.

"I will never end this, do you hear me?" he asked in between his thrusts and pants. "The only person I ever want to do this with is you. It's always going to be you, Sasuke."

"Sh-shut up," Sasuke replied faintly. He shut his eyes tightly as the pleasure began to oversee anything else. When Naruto's lips crashed down on to his, Sasuke immediately gave into the kiss. It was messy and chaotic as their tongues slid against each other, desperately trying to overtake each other's mouths. Occasionally their teeth would clash through the sloppiness, but Sasuke didn't want it any other way.

Naruto pulled back from the kiss after a minute and then rested one side of his face against Sasuke's. He was rewarded with a pleasure-filled moan in his ear.

"Naruto…I'm…" Sasuke didn't finish.

"Yes. Cum for me, Sasuke," Naruto whispered hotly into his ear.

Sasuke bit his lip and tightened his thighs around Naruto's waist. His head tilted back against the edge of the bed and he let out one incredibly loud moan as he finally came undone for the man above him. His hips went in sporadic movements, and then he felt his entire body freeze as thick shots of cum spilled out in between them as well as on Naruto's jerking hand. Sasuke was sure that he almost blacked out for a moment.

Naruto kept thrusting, but was mesmerized by Sasuke's voice and expressions as he came, almost forgetting how to breathe for a moment due to how incredible it looked for Sasuke to be this way. The tightening around him grew to be too much for him. He threw his head back as he pounded roughly into Sasuke and then shouted when finally came himself.

"Sasuke!" he yelled and stilled his hips as the condom he wore was filled with his seed. Time stood still and his vision went white for a moment as he continued to empty himself. When he finished, he fell forward on top of Sasuke, letting go of the other's legs and resting between them.

Sasuke was still too out of it to tell Naruto that he was too heavy. Instead he rested his hand against the small of the man's back and rubbed up and down in soothing motions as they both tried hard to get themselves under control.

Eventually, Naruto was able to roll on his side of the bed and on his back. He looked up at the ceiling and let his eyes trace the patterns on it until his vision got better. Soon after, he looked back at Sasuke, who still had his eyes closed.

Slowly, Naruto raised himself up and got up from the bed. After he threw away the condom, he grabbed one of the towels from their shower and proceeded to wipe of his hand then walked over to Sasuke and wiped the sticky substance off of his abs, some even managed to get onto Sasuke's chest. Naruto realized then that Sasuke probably should have put a condom on too to avoid that, but it all happened too fast to really even think about it.

Afterward, he threw the towel to the ground and flopped back down onto the bed to sit beside Sasuke.

"You still with me?" he asked jokingly. However he did wonder if maybe he got a little too carried away near the end.

Sasuke mumbled something that Naruto didn't quite catch, and then sat up. He winced when he felt the sharp pain in his ass. When he finally looked up to meet Naruto's eyes, he saw the smugness.

Rolling his eyes, he slowly went forward and made his way to his side of the bed then he turned to lie back against the pillows. Naruto followed in suit and they both quietly watched each other.

"Don't tell me you're too tired to go again?" Sasuke finally broke the silence.

Naruto laughed. "I should be asking you that. I was just giving you a breather."

"Hm," Sasuke offered and faced forward. He felt Naruto scooting closer to him and glanced at him again when their sides finally touched. "You call this giving me a breather?"

"What? Am I too close?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

"Do you want me to move away?"

"…"

Naruto smiled and turned on his side. He brought his hand up and placed it over Sasuke's chest, then he lowered it even more so that he could tease the rosy nipple.

"Do you have anywhere to be tomorrow?"

Sasuke sucked in a breath when he felt Naruto pinch his nipple and afterward he shook his head. "No. Not anywhere in particular. I suppose I could go out to the store and pick up some things since you failed to do so."

Naruto pouted. "I was going to do it today, but I forgot."

"Mhm. Sure," Sasuke said. He hissed when he felt Naruto pinch his tender nipple with extra roughness.

Naruto chuckled and then finally removed his hand from Sasuke's chest, much to Sasuke's disappointment.

"We could spar tomorrow if you want. I know it's probably been a while for you."

"Sure," Sasuke replied, and then smirked, "if you're looking to get your ass kicked."

"Ha!" Naruto barked. "We'll see about that, bastard."

"What time?"

Naruto paused thought about it. "Well, I'm supposed to meet with Kakashi in the morning for a little while, and then I planned on stopping by Iruka's." The thought of his old teacher made a small smile appear on his face.

"Hn."

"You…could come, too, if you want." Naruto said slowly. Sasuke gave him a look and then turned away. That made Naruto shift toward the Uchiha and raise himself up on his elbow. "Come on, Sasuke. Why can't you guys just get along? You're both really important to me."

"He's the one always shooting me glares every chance he gets. I have nothing against him."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "I don't understand."

"Of course you don't." Sasuke sat up and turned his body to Naruto. "I'm the one who almost killed you on multiple occasions. I'm the one responsible for you getting your arm blown off. And…I was also the one who put you through an incredible amount of pain for so many years," he said regretfully. Talking about those times was still like pouring salt on a fresh wound.

Naruto bit his lip that slightly began to tremble. "Sasuke…"

"So of course he doesn't like me. You're like family to him, and he wants to protect you from the ones that hurt you. I…can understand that."

Naruto sat up and mimicked Sasuke's position. "I never blamed you for any of that. My choosing to save you…It was something that I wanted to do by myself and on my own. It was something that only I could do. You and I...we've been through a lot of pain together and apart, but in the end I'd say it was worth it."

At Naruto's honest words, Sasuke looked away. "He doesn't see it the same way you do."

Naruto sighed. "Well I guess I should talk to him about it when I go over there tomorrow, huh?"

"No," Sasuke responded immediately.

Naruto gave him a confused look. "Why not?"

"Because this is what I deserve. If he wants to be angry with me for the way I treated you, then I can accept that. And if one day he manages to forgive me on his own, then I will accept that too. But I don't want you to fight for me with him. I can't stop you when it comes to the rest of the world, but in this situation, I will."

Naruto looked down at the sheets. "You don't deserve it," he muttered. The idea of not intervening sounded absurd to his own ears, and he didn't like it at all given that Iruka was stubborn as hell. What if he never forgave Sasuke? It would have absolutely killed Naruto if the two most important people in his life never got along.

"Ah!" Naruto shouted when the top of his hair was yanked. He was forced to look up and meet Sasuke's gaze once more. "Hey! You could have ripped my hair out!" he said and rubbed at the top of his now throbbing head.

Sasuke ignored his whining and rested his hand against Naruto's shoulder. "You're not allowed to make so many shortcuts for me...Usuratonkachi," he said softly; perhaps even affectionately.

Naruto stilled. Those words seemed to echo in his mind. He felt his bones chilling as the realization hit him hard and heavy.

After so many years of working hard to beat the odds that were against him, Naruto of all people should have been able to understand why Sasuke felt the way he did.

And while it still worried him, Naruto was willing to let Sasuke and Iruka solve this by themselves. Slowly, he found himself nodding his head as Sasuke's words sank deeply into his heart.

"I just hate being stuck in the middle," he grumbled and then leaned his forehead onto Sasuke's shoulder.

"Stop being so self-centered," Sasuke said, clearly amused. He brought his hand back up to Naruto's hair, this time to rake through it gently.

Naruto exhaled against Sasuke's skin and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Sasuke's hand in his hair.

"Do you still have doubts about us?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered honestly.

Naruto finally pulled away and looked at Sasuke carefully.

"I meant what I said earlier. I don't plan on ending this. And I don't plan on letting you go without a fight."

"Your possessive side is starting to show," Sasuke smirked.

"Is that...a bad thing?" Naruto asked self-consciously. It made him anxious to know if it was okay to have these kind of feelings.

Sasuke thought about it. "I suppose it isn't."

Naruto swallowed the small bit of fear that he had back down. "I've never had anybody to act this way about, but I guess that it's only with you that I feel like I can," he mumbled the last part and scratched at one of his blushing cheeks.

At that Sasuke's face changed and his mouth stretched out into one of the most sincerest smiles, a smile that only Naruto had the privilege of seeing, and stopped his breath every single time.

"So I guess this means I can be a little possessive over you then?" Sasuke questioned.

"Hmm. I suppose that's fair."

Sasuke glared, "You bet your ass that's fair," he said, and then pushed Naruto back down onto the bed. He got in-between the other's legs and fell flat against him, causing their groins to meet.

"Would you not be able to handle the competition?" Naruto's eyes gleamed with humor in them now.

"There is no competition."

"I'm not too sure about that, I saw a couple of girls looking my way today. They were pretty cute."

Sasuke's eyes darkened and he leaned forward so that their noses touched. "But do they know that the only person who could ever get you to submit is me?"

"What makes you so su—"

Naruto gasped and shut his eyes when he felt Sasuke thrust against him. He slowly opened them again to meet the other's burning gaze.

Sasuke came even closer and licked at Naruto's bottom lip. "I may still have my doubts, but I am sure about my feelings," he said after pulling back for a moment. "And I'm also certain that no one else will ever be able to match them."

Naruto felt the pacing of his heart quickening. He had no time to react properly because Sasuke leaned down and kissed him fully. Moaning, he brought his hands up to cup the sides of Sasuke's face.

Slowly and passionately they kissed, waiting for that incredible flame shared between them to ignite into the scorching fire that it always did. They enveloped themselves into it again and again, needing only each other to keep it alive. And they were both just fine with that.


End file.
